In July 2014, in response to the kidnapping and murder of three
teenagers, Israel launched a wide-scale attack on the people of the Gaza
Strip. The usual news machine rolled up, and the same tragic scenes and
heightened political rhetoric was aired, yet practically nothing was
being reported of the lives of ordinary, non-political Gazans, the real
victims of the war.

One of the few voices to make it out was that of Atef Abu Saif, a
writer and editor who’d toured the UK just weeks before with us to
launch an anthology of stories depicting ordinary Gazan life (The Book of Gaza). Atef’s eye-witness diary pieces were published in a range of major outlets (includingThe Guardian, Slate, New York Times,
etc) and became a unique porthole into the conflict for Western
readers. Here, his complete diaries of the war, offer a unique
perspective on one of the world’s most contested political crises. Noam Chomsky, globally-renowned media critic, writes the foreword.

The Book of Tokyo. A city in short fictionEdited by Michael Emmerich and Masashi Matsuie.

This anthology of ten stories set in Tokyo will amuse, dazzle,
confound and challenge you. For those unfamiliar with the city, this
unique book will provide you with a literary map charting social and
cultural shifts in the city within the last 50 years. Featuring a gentle
but crisis-ridden father, a suspected murderer and his would-be victim,
a monster who rides ferries and trains to find salvation in the city
and a woman whose personal identity and memories merge with those of the
city while she weeds her garden, plus many more beautifully-drawn urban
characters.

In 2005, the poet Michelle Green spent six months working for a
humanitarian aid agency in West Darfur. Upon returning to the UK, she
encountered in newspapers and television the familiar portraits of
distant war: the refugee with the empty bowl, the anonymous soldier,
the heroic aid worker and so on, usually with little context or
complication. Inevitably, these incomplete images were soon gone from
the front pages.

This collection of short stories explores some of the complexities of
the ongoing war in Darfur, and draws upon some of Green’s own
experiences as witness as well as her subsequent research. Though the
stories are fictional, they are all rooted in a particular time and
place, and informed by the day-to-day realities of life in a time of
chaos and horror.

New Writers’ Showcase

The latest in Comma’s acclaimed series of new author showcases (Bracket, Parenthesis and Brace) will continue
Comma’s commitment to championing the work of new writers. Once again,
this anthology will be the first to publish literary ‘names’ of the
future, and will have the courage to support edgy, daring work that
other publishers normally wouldn’t.

The Well of Trapped Words by Sema Kaygusuz. Translated by Maureen Freely.

A sixty year-old man marries a teenage bride, then mysteriously
begins to starve himself to death.A disenfranchised Kurdish girl finally
fulfulls her dream to dine out at the mall – where all is not as it
seems. A local strongman is robbed and beaten by a gang. In hospital, he
strives to prevent his secret insecurity being exposed; that inside his
huge shoes he has tiny feet.

Sema Kaygusuz is one of Turkey’s leading writers. Discover her
incredible talent in this, her first appearance in English. Winner of an
English PEN translation grant.